“FIVE-ARCS,” A PRIMER
By Maggie (RIP my last name, not that I was all that attached)
Maggie here, writing about the weird game I spent most of yesterday afternoon playing because it was a ton of fun, and I honestly think that all of us Earthlings could use something like that to wind down with from time to time. This is going to be part instructions, part just random ramblings about what any of this means. I'm bored, that second part is inevitable. You have been warned.
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THE GAME PIECES
As the name suggests, the game is played with five “arcs,” basically just any similarly-sized, horseshoe-shaped objects. I saw them made of everything from metal wires to clay to carved stone or wood or even what I’m pretty sure was bone. I didn’t ask where they got the bone. The arcs don’t have standardized size or proportions, either. So long as all of the arcs used in a given match are “close enough” by the standards of the players, everything is fine. This allows for all sorts of animals to play, from small rodents to large, hoofed creatures. Anyone with special needs regarding their body is encouraged to make, borrow, or otherwise obtain a set that works best for them.
The only other “piece” of the game is something to create a dividing line between two sides of the play area. Literally anything will do, and it doesn’t even have to be an object. My first games were played with a line in the dirt, and some prefer to mark the line with charcoal or chalk rather than carry anything bulkier. For physical objects, a simple length of twine will do, but some with poor eyesight or larger bodies need something more visible.
THE RULES
This is where things get really interesting. The goal of the game is to have the most of the arcs on your side of the play area when there are no more moves left to take. And when I say “the most of,” I don’t mean the actual number of arcs, because they can be split across the dividing line. But rather, you win if more of the actual material is physically on your side. It sounds like a hassle, but with the Understanding we have, you just have to kinda stare at it for a few seconds with the intent of the rules in mind and the actual score will come to you. Dunno how our “Attuned” folks will manage, but if you can’t, then your opponent can, and you can generally trust people to be good sports about it.
The five arcs each start “out of play,” set off to the side somewhere within reach, and then the players take turns placing and moving them, trying to take control. There are three types of moves you can make. You can: Place an arc, Slide an arc, or Flip an arc. Placing is self-explanatory, Sliding lets you reposition and/or rotate an arc, and Flipping lets you… flip them, but specifically across the exact mid-point of the arc. The key here is that you can only interact with arcs that are in contact with another arc (aside from the ones yet to be placed, of course), and that any arc you’re Sliding has to be touching another arc for the entire movement. Also you have to Place arcs touching, aside from the first
Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
No. No. I’m explaining this horribly. Screw it. I’m drawing them now.
PLACE:
image [https://cohost.org/rc/attachment-redirect/cc948452-ca03-4de8-af4e-1c70baad1211]
SLIDE:
image [https://cohost.org/rc/attachment-redirect/031faeca-6473-47a6-8e34-65e834ed6a58]
FLIP:
image [https://cohost.org/rc/attachment-redirect/1f4ebf61-407c-4ca6-b471-abc9f7545c59]
There. Enjoy my foot-scribbles.
The final rule is a simple but important one. You can’t move the arc your opponent just interacted with. This prevents stalemates and lets you force situations if you plan ahead.
But yeah, so you do these moves with the goal of having more on your side when there are no more moves to make, which is when all of the arcs have been Flipped away from the others and made impossible to interact with.
BUT MAGGIE, WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN???
Asked no one Scratch that, Ink-Talon would probably ask. But I actually have thoughts on this! Strange, I know!
Apparently this game originates here in Darksoil, invented not too long after the founding of the city. Now, if you ask any of the natives what the game is meant to represent, they’ll look at you like you’re insane before just saying it represents itself. But I think that’s just the symbolism being completely lost on them because they’re not used to expressing things symbolically without it being Understood in a very direct, one-to-one way. I managed to get Sunny to Understand it after enough explaining and brainstorming, so I know they can, but just don’t.
But think about this city. They built a very large settlement in the middle of what is basically a poisonous wasteland for what are effectively religious reasons. Resources, who controlled them, and how one could transport them would have been the most important things for people living here to learn. And that’s exactly what this game is about. With how important context is in this society, I think this game might have been a reflection of the conflicts and struggles of the time, or maybe even some way to get the players in the right mindset to handle logistics.
That’s all lost now, though, so it doesn’t really matter. But it was going to bug me if I didn’t take time to write it out, so now you have to deal with it.